Cathead and clutching device therefor



March 31, 1942. A. L. RODGERS 2,278,022

GATHEAD AND cLuTcHING DEVICE THEREFOR Filed Marche, 1959 v fz-seets-sheet 1 6. y ,rzbar L. @ad ers March 31,1942. vA'.| 1,RQDGERS 2,278,022

CATHEAD AND CLUTCHING DEVICE THEREFOR Filed March 6, 1959 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Mar. 31, 1942 las, Tex`., a` corporation o'f Texas y Application o, 1939, Serial s claims. (c1. Zai-rsi) Thisinvention relates to new. and Auseful improvements in catheads and clutching devices therefor.

VAs is well-known, hoisting andlother devices Y including rotatable cable drums are widely used in the-oil industry for various purposes and it is necessary that a positive control of such devices be had. One type of device which is commonly used is generally known as a cathead,and,;for.

the purposesY of thisv description, will be described f in connection with such device.` Y

A cathead is an apparatus including a rotatable spool or drum about which a cable or ,line is` arranged to-be wound. The, drum vis ordinarily. located adjacent the draw works andis connected thereto by a clutch mechanism, whereby Vrotation ofsaid drum may be controlled. The cable or line on said drum is used forvarious purposes,

one oi which is the making or breaking of pipe` joints, which is accomplished 'by wrapping'fthe' free end of the cable around the pipe and th'en rotating the drum or spool tocausethegcableto' be wound around said drum, thereby imparting a spinning or revolving motion to the pipe to which saidV free ,end is attached. The cathea'd line is relatively short and is employed for ,many other uses, which' are familiar to thoseskilled in the ,art. Since the cathead is relatively. light in construction, it is primarilyused for the'lighter work since the draw works drum is available for the heavier work.

One object of the invention ist provide an improved catheador rotatable drum assembly, which may be mounted on the derrick floor as a separate unit, or which may be associated with the draw works, and which is constructed so as to efliciently handle all of the necessary work, such as making and breaking joints, handling tongs, etc. f i

An important object of the invention is to provide a device including a rotatable element having an improved clutch mechanism associatedl therewith, whereby the rotation of the element may be quickly and positively controlledwith no danger of injury to ,the operator and with a minimum effort on the part of said operator.

A particular object of the invention is to provide an improved device, of the characterdescribed, wherein the clutch disk or plate which establishes driving connection with the rotatable element is movable into and out of frictional engagement with said element by means of al rotatable Worm screw, whereby maximum movescrewacts as ,alockingmeansto prevent accidental disengagement ofthe disk from the element after these parts have been engaged.'

` A further objectlof theinvention vis vto providel an improved device, of thecharacter described,

wherein two clutch elements are employed, one on eachside ofthe rotatable cable drum, or other member, together with aV single actuating means for engaging, the clutch elements withthe' drum to, setup a driving connection therebetween;v the' provision of thetwo elements producing ai double clutching `action to assure positive. driving connection betweensaiddrum and said elements'.

Still anotherobject' of the in'ventionisto pro-1 v idepan improved cathead ,device having a rotatable cable spool'arrangedgto befrictionally engagedwbyl aA clutch element soV as to be driven thereby, ,the device vincludingmeans for preventingA lubricant inthe borecf the drumgfrompassa ing outwardly between the clutching facesand interferingwiththe'- clutching action.

A construction designedto carryout theon- Vention livillgbehereinafter described, ,together with` Qtherieaturesgof met invention.

The inventionjwill be morereadily ,understood from a reading of the following specification` and by.referencetowthe accompanying drawings, in which` an example of the invention is shown, andwherein:, c ,Y f.

, Figurel isan elevation of a cathead, constructed in accordance withl theinvention,

ligureZ- is an enlarged longitudinal, sectional viewvr taken l ongthe lineMZ--Z of Figure 1and showing the clutch mechanism in a disengaged position,

mechanism injanengaged position, Figure 4 is atran'sverse, vertical, sectional view taken 0.11 the. 1ine.4-4 .o f;Fi,gure V2,;

Feureris a View, partly in elevation and partly Yin section, `and showingjthe Y worm screw,` with the` movable collar within which said screw is threaded,

Figure 6 is an plates,

Figure 7, Ais a plan View' of a modied form of the invention, v c Y Figure 8 vis a longitudinal, sectional view of this form, showing the clutch mechanism in a disengaged position in full lines, Y

FigureI 9 is a transverse, vertical, sectional view taken on the line`9-9 of Figure 8,

nd'elvatbn or one of the'c'lut'ch Figure 111..,is,L View, partly ,in .,leytidn, and

eerily in,$ectiornanc1-showing the drive pulley and clutch disk assembly, and

The shaft I is arranged to be coupled to a drive shaft I2, which is driven by any suitable means (not shown), whereby the shaft Ill is constantly rotated so long as the shaft I2 is rotating. The' coupling between the shaft I0 and thevshaft I2 is clearly shown in Figures 2 and 4 and this coupling includes a circular plate I3 which is provided with an axial screw-threaded opening I4, Within which the pin I I of the shaft I0 is threaded. The plate I3 is arranged to abut the endl of' the drive shaft I2 and its peripheral portion extends beyond the outer surface of said drive shaft. A split coupling collar I5 is adapted to encircle the end of the drive shaft I2 and has one end abutting the extended portion of the plate I3. This end of the split coupling collar isy secured to said plateby means of bolts I6.` The opposite end of the collar I5 is formed with an inwardly directed flange I1 which engages within an annular groove I3 provided in the outer surface of the shaft I2. Manifestly, the screws I6 tend to hold the two lsections of the split coupling collar I5 together, but to further fasten these parts to each other a pair of suitable bolts I9 (Figure 4) pass through the meeting faces of the section of said collar. A radially extending pin is provided with a head 2I which `fits within a recess 22 formed in the outer surface of the drive shaft I2. The outer end of the pin is arranged to engage an opening 23 in the split 'coupling collar I5 and said pin serves to connectY the shaft with the coupling, whereby said coupling rotates therewith.

When the drive shaft I2 is rotated, the cou pling I5 is rotated `therewith and since the plate I3, which forms a part of the coupling, is connected to the shaft l0 through the screw threads II, the shaft I0 is also rotated. The engagement of the inwardly directed flange I1 on the coupling I5 within the annular groove I3 of the shaft I2 holds the plate I3 and the end of the pin II in abutting relation with the end of said shaft I2. When it is desired to disconnect the shafts Il! and I2, it is only necessary to remove the bolts I6 and the bolts I9, which permit the sections of the coupling I5 to be removed from around the shaft I2. As soon as this is done, the shafts I Il and I2 may be separated.

The opposite end of the shaft IU is formed with an enlarged clutch plate or disk 24, which is preferably made integral with said shaft. Beyond the disk, the shaft is extended and this extended portion is journaled in a bearing collar 25 which is supported by an upright standard 25', whereby the outer end of the shaft I0 is suitably supported. The central portion of the clutch disk or plate 24 is hollowedl out to form an annular chamber 26 and this chamber is arranged to receive a suitable lubricant. Inclined ports or openings 21 extend outwardly from the chamber 26 to the exterior of the clutch plate and the purpose of these ports will be hereinafter explained. The inner surface of the clutch disk or plate has a suitable clutching material 28 secured thereto.

A cable drum or spoolf29 is mounted on the shaft IIJ and is freely rotatable thereon. This spool or drum may be of any desired size and has a cable or line 30 wound therearound. One end of the cable is secured to the drum and has been illustrated as fastened in a recess 3I provided in the drum (Figure 2), whereby the cable cannot be detached from the drum. The free end of the cable or line is utilized to perform the making and breaking of pipe joints, or other work on the derrick floor.

A second clutch disk or plate 32, similar in construction to the plate 24, surrounds the shaft I0 and is arranged to engage the opposite end ofthe drum or spool 29. The inner face of this disk has a suitable clutching material 33 secured thereto. The clutch disk 32 is formed with an integral collar 34, which collar is secured to the shaft by a key 35. The key is engageable with a longitudinal slot 36 provided in the bore of the collar 34. With this arrangement, the clutch disk 32 is rotatable with the shaft I0 at all times, but due to the engagement of the key 35 within the slot 36, said clutch disk is movable longitudinally of the shaft. The clutch disk 32 is formed with the internal annular chamber '26, similar'to the chamber 26.in the clutch plate 24 and is also provided with the inclined outlet 21. The clutch plates or disks 24 and 32 have substantially the same diameter as the ends of the cable drum or spool 29 and, obviously, when the'plate 32 is moved longitudinally of the shaft and into engagement with the end of the drum, said drum is confined between the plate 32 and the other clutch plate 24. When so confined, a rotation of the shaft will rotate the disk 32,' with the result that the drum or spool 29 is also rotated. The direction of rotation of the shaft IIl is always the same and is in a direction to wind the cable 30 around the drum. When the clutch 32 is disengaged from the end of the drum, said drum, being freely rotatable 0n the shaft I0, is halted in its rotation. It is pointed out that the movement of the clutch disk 32 is relatively small since the space between its clutch face 33 and the end of the drum is slight. In this manner, it is only necessary to move the disk 32 a relatively small distance in order to set up a clutching engagement with the drum.

` For imparting a. longitudinal movement to the clutch plate 32 in order to engage and disengage said plate from the druml 29, a worm screw element 31 surrounds the shaft Ill, being freely rotatable thereon. The element 31 is formed with coarse thread 38 and also provided with an enlarged flange or head 39, to which an operating handle 40 is attached. The ange or head 39 of the element 31 is located adjacent the Circular disk or plate- I3 of the coupling collar I5 and a suitable thrust bearing 4Iv is interposed between the head and the plate. Said plate and said head may be recessed to receive the bearing-assembly 4 I, as is shown in Figure 2. v

The coarse threads 38 of the worm screw element 31 are threaded into the bore 42 of a thrust collar 43. This thrust collar is mounted within a xed collar 44 carried by a standard 45 and is held against rotation within said xed collar by set screws 46. The set screws pass through the collar 44 and engage longitudinal grooves 41 formed in the exterior of the thrust collar 43. With this arrangement, the set screws prevent rotation of the thrust collar but permit a longitudinal movement within the fixed support 44. It is pointed out that the head 39 of the worm screw element 31 is conned between the bearing assembly 4I and the fixed support 44, whereby said element Vcannot undergo a longitudinal movement on the shaft, although itis' capable of4 rotation thereon.

The bore 42 of the thrust collar 43 is enlarged,`

as shown at 48, whereby an internal annular shoulder 49 is formed within one end of said thrust collar, A thrust bearing assembly 50 yis conned within the enlarged portion 48 of thel bore of the collar 43 and this assembly-has one side abutting the shoulder 49. The otherside of the bearing assembly engages the ends of the collar 34 which is made integral with the clutch disk 32y and, therefore, any longitudinal movement of the thrust collar 43 will impart a similar movement to the clutch disk 32.

In theY operation of the device, with the parts in anunclutched position, as shown in Figure 2, the drum or spool 29 is freelyrotatablezon the shaft ID land the operator may grasp the free end of the cable 30 and unwind the-same from the drum. At this time, it will be assumed that the drive shaft l2 is rotating, as -is the shaft I6 which iscoupled thereto. When it is ,desired to rotate the drum 29 so as to wind the cable 30 therearound, and perform any given operation, it is only necessary to graspthe handle 46 of the worm screw element 31 and by means of this'handle rotate said worm screw. As has been pointed out, the element 31 is confined against any longitudinal movement on the shaft and,y therefore, as the same is rotated, the coarse' threads 38 thereof engaging in the threads formed in the bore of the thrust collar 43, imparts a longitudinal movement to said thrust collar. only a partial revolution of the worm screw element 31 is necessary to obtain arelatively long movement of the collar 43. As the collar 43 moves longitudinally of the shaft within the fixed support 44, said collar bearing against the collar 34 of the clutch disk 32 through the thrust bearing assembly 50, moves said collar and clutch disk- 32 into engagement with thev end of the drum or spool 29. When the clutch disk 32 engages the drum, said drum is forced into engagement with the opposite clutch disk 24 and is, therefore, confined between the two clutching elements 24 and 32. `Since the element 32 is keyed on the shaft I6 which is rotating, it'will be manifest that a rotation will beimparted to the drum through the frictional engagement of the clutching faces 23 and 33 withtheends of said drum. The direction of rotation of the shaft' and clutch disks 32 and 24, as has been pointed out, is in a direction to wind the cable Since theA threads are relatively coarse,

from the clutching elements, it is only necessary 1 ment between lthis latter disk and the drum is no longer had. Thereforegas -soon 'astlie pressure' against `the diskt32 lis 4relieved-,fthe driving connection with the drumI is relieved and said drum is again freely-rotatable independently `of the shafty I0. il It is pointed out that the provisionr'of the worm screw and the movablercollar 43 provides a quick and effective means ofmaking and breaking theclutching! engagement. Although the threads 38 of the worm screw `are relatively coarse,y their pitch isV suciently steep to prevent a reverse operation'r of said worm screw and, therefore, when the clutchl disks are in their engaged position, said wormlscrew acts as a locking means to Y prevent accidental rdisengagement of the clutching. mechanism. Also,the provision of the worm screw provides av` positivel means of applying sufficient pressure to set upA the desired frictional engagement between the clutching faces and the drum. It is pointed out that although a manually operable handle 40 has been shown as a means for rotating the worm screw element, any desired means for rotating this element may be employed-'as for examp1e, a foot lever could? be provided;

vIn Figures'? to 11, a modified form` of the invention is shown. In this form, an elongate operating shaft 5l is provided. A drive pulley 52,l which may be rotated by a suitable belt 53, is mounted on the' shaft 5| andr is freely rotatable thereon. This pulley is provided with an integral elongate sleeve 54, which sleeve' has the shaft 5| extending therethrough. A clutch disk.y

or plate 55 is also made integral with the sleeve 54 and is provided with clutching material 56 on its innerv face. As is clearly shown in Figures 8 and 10, the clutch disk or plate 55 is spaced fromV the pulley 52. The sleeve 54 extends through a bearing collar or support 51, which support is split, the sections thereof being fastened together by bolts 58 (Figure 9) The bearing collar or support isV carried by a standard 59 which extends upwardly from a supporting base 60. As is clearly shown in Figure 8, the bearing collarA is located betweenthe vdrive pulley 52 and the clutch plate 55 and serves to support the sleeve 54 andwshaft 5l. v l

One end of the shaft 5I is formed with an external'annular flange 6|, which flange is located on the outer side of the drive pulley 52. A suitable vthrust bearing' assembly 62 is confined between the flange 53| and said pulley and, beyond'the' flange', theV shaft is extended and has an operating handle 63 secured thereto. By

grasping the' handle, the operator may freely rotate the 's'haft5l within the sleeve 54'.

The opposite end of the shaft 5Iv is formed with a worm screw64, which screw is'threaded within aL thrust collar 65. The' collar 65 is mounted within a support 66 and is' held against rotationv therein by a'set screw 61. The support is carried by aistandard 68 which extends upwardly from theA base 66; Since the thrust collar 65 is held stationary within'v its xed support, it will be' manifest that a rotation of the shaft 5| will cause saidv shaft to movelongitudinally of` said collar duey to the worm screw 64y being threaded within said collar. A longitudinal movement of theY shaft 5|' will'cause ther external flange 61,

which is made integral therewith, to apply' a pressureA againstA the pulley 52 and against the sleeve 54 and clutch plate 55 madeA integral'with' said pulley. Rotationfofi the'shaft 5'1" in move away fromthe pulley 52 and thereby relieve the pressure thereagainst.

A cable drum or spool surrounds the sleeve 54 beyond theclutch plate or disk 55 and said drum is freely rotatable on the sleeve. One end of the drum is adjacent to the clutch face 56 of the clutch element 55, while the other end of said drum is adjacent the thrust collar 65. A suitable thrust bearing assembly 10 is interposed between the end of the drum 69 and the thrust collar 65. The cable 30 has one end attached in any suitable manner to the drum 69 and said cable is adapted to be wound around said drum.

In the operation of this form, it will be manifest that the pulley 52 is rotated `by means of the belt 53 and rotation of this pulley imparts a rotation to the sleeve` 54 and clutch disk or plate secured thereto. When the clutch plate 55 is in its disengaged position, as shown in full lines in Figure 8, it will be manifest that the pulley and clutch, as well as the sleeve 54, will rotate on the shaft When it is desired to engage the clutch face 56 with the end of the drum 69, itis only necessary to rotate the shaft 5l and rotation of this shaft will cause alongitudinal movement of said shaft due to the worm screw 64 which is threaded through the stationary thrust collar 65. As the shaft is rotated and moved through the collar 65, the ange 6l on said shaft, bearing against the pulley 52 through the thrust bearing 62, will impart a longitudinal movement to said pulley. Since the pulley is made4 integral with the sleeve 54, as well as with the clutch platev 55, these latter two parts will be moved therewith. Such movement of the clutch plate 55 causes its clutching face 56 to engage the end of the drum 69, which has its opposite end engaging the stationary thrust collar 65, whereby said drum is conned between said collar and the clutch disk. As soon as this occurs, a frictional engagement between the clutch disk and the drum sets up a driving connection between the pulley 52 and said drum to rotate the latter.

When it is desired to disengage the clutch disk 55, it is only necessary to rotate the shaft 5|, whereby the worm screw 64 will reverse its travel through the stationary thrust collar 65. Such movement of the shaft 5I relieves the pressure against the end of the pulley 52, whereby the clutch disk or plate 55 may move away from the drum 69 and disconnect said drum from the driving means. It is noted that the worm screw 64 and the collar 65 act in the same manner as the worm screw element 31 and thrust collar 43, which has been described in the first form, whereby a locking of the clutch plate in its engaged position is had.

The improved clutching mechanism has been illustrated and described for actuating the rotatable cable drum of a cathead apparatus but it is pointed out that said mechanism may be readily employed for connecting and disconnecting a drive means with any rotatable element. For example, the rotatable element could be a drive gear instead of a cable drumand, manifestly, the clutching mechanism would control the rotation thereof. Thus, the invention is not to be limited to its use with a cathead, since it may be employed elsewhere.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof and various changes Vin the size, shape and materials, as well as in the de-` tails of the illustrated construction, may be made,

within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A cathead including, a rotatable shaft, a clutch disk secured to one end of the shaft and incapable of longitudinal movement, a cable drum freely rotatable on the shaft and having one end adjacent the clutch disk, a second clutch disk keyed on the shaft and capable of longitudinal movement thereon and arranged to be moved into engagement with the opposite end of the drum, whereby said drum is conned between the disksand has frictional engagement therewith so as to be driven thereby, a nonrotatable thrust collar surrounding the shaft being movable longitudinally thereof and having itsend arranged to abut and engage the movable clutch disk whereby when the collar is' moved said disk is moved therewith, a fixed support within which the collar is keyed and rotatable means on the shaft and engaging within the bore of the thrust collar for imparting movement to the collar.

2. A cathead including, a rotatable shaft, a clutch disk secured to one end of the shaft and incapable of longitudinal movement, a cable drum freely rotatable on the shaft and having one end adjacent the clutch disk, a second clutch disk keyed on the shaft and capable of longitudinal movement thereon and arranged to be moved into engagement with the opposite end of the drum, whereby said drum is confined between the disks and has frictional engagement therewith so as to'be driven thereby, a non-rotatable thrust collar surrounding the shaft being movable longitudinally thereof and having its end arranged to abut and engage the movable clutch disk whereby when the collar is moved said disk is moved therewith, a fixed support within which the collar is keyed to undergo longitudinal movement and a rotatable worm screw element threaded within the collar and confined against longitudinal, movementy whereby rotation of the element imparts movement to the collar and thereby controls the clutching action.

v3. A cathead including, a rotatable shaft, a clutch disk secured to one end of the shaft and incapable of longitudinal movement, a cable drum'freely rotatable on the shaft and having one end adjacent the clutch disk, a second clutch disk keyed on the shaft and capable of longitudinal movement thereon and arranged to be moved into engagement with the opposite end of the drum, whereby said drum is conned between the disks and has frictional engagement therewith so as to be driven thereby, an annular fixed support mounted adjacent the movable clutch disk and surrounding the shaft, a thrust collaralso surrounding the shaft and slidably keyed within the support so as to be movable longitudinally on the shaft, said collar being free from positive connection .with the clutch disk and arranged to engage the movable clutch disk, whereby the collar may be utilized to move the disk into engagement with the drum, and a rotatable operating member confined against movement on the shaft and interposed between said shaft and the collar, said member and collar having co-acting worm teeth, whereby rotation of the member will impart movement to the collar.

ARTHUR L. RODGERS. 

